


Feathers

by Devereauxs_Disease



Category: Adam (2009), Charlie Countryman (2013), Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom
Genre: Adam is an angel, Adam smokes pot, Adam wants to save Nigel's soul, Because high angels are fun, Because it's me, Crack and likely smut, Drug Use, Hannibal Extended Universe, LITERALLY, M/M, Nigel is a sinner, Nigel wants to show Adam how fun sin can be, let's be real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:54:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11579406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devereauxs_Disease/pseuds/Devereauxs_Disease
Summary: Guardian Angel Adam is assigned to a borderline case: Nigel. But it turns out getting Nigel to change his ways is tougher than just appearing in a flash of light. Nigel strikes a deal with the cute little feathered man who's in his room: He'll commit one good deed for every sin Adam commits. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a doofy thing I've been playing around on. I'm not even sure if it's worth another couple chapter, but we'll see.

          "You're my what, now?" Nigel lit another cigarette and stared at the man who had appeared in a flash of light at the foot of his bed.

          “I’m your guardian angel, Adam.” The kid’s face was impassive, blinking impossibly blue eyes as he took in his surroundings. When he noticed Nigel’s scrutiny, he ducked his head, flapping his long snowy wings nervously. The movement dislodged the golden halo, making it fall lopsided over one of the man’s eyes. With a mild disgruntled noise, Adam readjusted the circlet.

          Nigel looked at the trails of coke on his nightstand. “What the fuck is in this shit?”

          Adam looked at the powder, then back at Nigel’s bare chest. “It’s approximately 40% cocaine, 40% boric acid, and 20% laxative.”

          Nigel frowned. “Thank you, big bird.”

          Adam shook his head with a frown. “I’m not a bird, I’m an angel. The wings are part of the uniform.”

          Nigel sighed, scratching his chest. If this weird little thing was going to ruin his high, he might as well have some fun. “Not that I’m complaining about anything as pretty as you popping up in my bedroom, but why the fuck are the halos and harps crew interested in me?”

          “I was assigned to you because you're a borderline case."

          Adams fingers tapped on his neat little slacks. Nigel had the urge to link their fingers together. He shook his head. Coke always made him sentimental.

          "Borderline?"

          "You have the capability of doing great good, though you don’t,” Adam admonished. Nigel snorted, waving his cigarette as he acquiesced the point. “If you live up to your potential, there’s a chance you could still go to heaven. St. Peter assigned me to try and get you on the right path."

          "Well, fuck your path and fuck you, Feathers.” Nigel raised an eyebrow at the neat little beauty in his prim sweater. “I do what I want."

          "Well, yes, that is the idea.” Adam furrowed his brow. “You were born with free will, Nigel. I'm just here to help you make better choices with your free will."

          "Like?"

          "Like you should stop smoking,” Adam snapped his fingers and the cigarette fell in a pile of ash on Nigel’s chest. “Also, shooting people is considered a sin in heaven. I'm not sure if you're aware."

          Nigel rolled his eyes as he brushed the ash from his pecs. "Oh really? Thanks for letting me know, gorgeous."

          "See? I'm already helping.” Adam’s voice ticked higher. He bounced once on the balls of his feet, chest puffing. “Now that you know you can't shoot people, I'm sure you-"

          "Feathers,” Nigel’s mouth quirked into a smirk. “I knew that already."

          "You- You know it's wrong but you did it anyway?"

          "Yeah, darling, that's half the fun."

          "That's sinning!" Adam’s eyes went wide as he bit his lip in consternation.

          "Oh Feathers, sinning is more fun than you know." Nigel leaned forward, reaching out to touch the edge of Adam’s wing. The little angel twitched, removing Nigel’s fingers.

          “Sinning is not fun. Sinning is bad. It’s doing bad things and hurting people.” Adam put his hands on his hips, his wings fluffed in an attempt to make himself look bigger. Nigel grinned at the little display.

          “How would you know? Bet you’ve never sinned in your life.”

          Adam made a frustrated noise. “Of course I haven’t. I have rules and a schedule that I follow-”

          Nigel poked Adam in the chest, delighting when it literally ruffled his feathers. “Then how do you know sinning isn’t fun?”

          Adam frowned. Nigel stood up crowding the little angel and watching with interest as a light flush seeped into his cheeks.

          “I’ll make you a deal, Feathers.”

          “I’m not authorized to make deals for souls, Nigel.”

          “Not that kind of deal.”

          “Oh, um, w-what was the deal?”

          "Stay with me for two weeks. Each day I’ll do one good thing to untarnish my soul, if you agree to commit one sin.”

          Adam worried his lip. “A good deed for a sin?”

          Nigel nodded.

          “I don’t want to commit murder or assault.”

          “We’ll work up to the big stuff, gorgeous, scout’s honor.”

          Adam squinted. “You weren’t a scout. From the ages of 8 to 17 you lived on the streets. In fact, the only organization you’ve ever been associated with was the-”

          “Alright, fuck!” Nigel glared at Adam and threw his hands up. “I fucking pinky fucking promise, then? That ok with you, Feathers?”

          “My name is Adam.”

          “I like Feathers.”

          Adam sighed. “I don’t like convoluted conversations. My name is Adam.”

          Nigel grinned. “I know it is, Feathers. Look you’re going to have to reform me one sin at a fucking time, this really where you want to start?”

          Nigel fished another cigarette from his pocket only to have it turn to ash in his fingers. He rolled his eyes and brushed the ash off his thigh.

          “One sin for one good deed, I- I suppose that’s alright.” Adam fluffed his plumage and nodded to himself. “I should know why your species enjoys sinning so much.”

          Nigel held out his hand to seal the deal. Adam shook it reluctantly, wiping his hand on his pants after it was released.

          “Don’t worry gorgeous, you didn’t just make a deal with the devil.”

          “Of course I didn’t!” Adam scoffed. “I’ve met the devil, he’s much nicer than you. He dresses better as well.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all are incredible! I didn't expect anyone to care about this AU at all.  
> I got so excited by your comments, I rushed and wrote another chapter and outlined the rest of the story.  
> So, you know, this is your own fault, for commenting...not mine...

          Nigel woke up with the taste of ash in his mouth and a coke headache throbbing at his temples. He stumbled into the shower, making plans to call Darko later and ask what the fuck the coke was cut with.

          He shook his head as the water warmed and sluiced over him. He hadn't hallucinated like that since the 90s. Still, wasn’t too bad, as hallucinations go. Nigel thought about those big blue eyes and the white downy feathers that fluttered in frustration. Nigel smiled into the warm spray of the water. He was cute, that little delusion. Nigel didn’t even know he had a thing for angels.

          Nigel pictured the little angel’s mouth, pulled into an unamused moue. The thought made his cock thicken and Nigel licked his lips – nothing better for a hangover than an orgasm and some vodka. He let his mind wander as he stroked himself: Gabi’s thighs, Adam’s wings, Darko’s girlfriend’s tits, Adam’s hair, Adam’s shinning blue eyes. Nigel could see the pattern, but decided not to think too hard about it, he’d never been one for denying himself.

          “ _Ah A-Adam_ ,” Nigel grunted as he pictured the angel biting his lip. How pink and soft the flesh had been when it finally escaped those small white teeth.

          “Yes?”

          “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” Nigel shrieked, nearly ripping his dick off during his startled upstroke. He turned to find curious blue eyes blinking at him from under the stream of water.

          “Don’t blaspheme.” Adam tilted his head. “You called for me? Are you ready to start your good deeds?”

          “You- Fuck, you’re fucking real.”

          “Yes.” Adam looked down Nigel’s body. “Would you like to finish masturbating first?”

          “I, uh, yeah?”

          “OK!” And Adam was gone.

          “What the fucking shit did I fucking take last night?” Nigel dropped his dick and turned the water cold. He needed to wake the fuck up. “Fucking hallucinations.”

          “Oh, I’m not a hallucination,” Adam was back, tapping on Nigel’s shoulder as the bigger man leaped into the air with another squeal. “See?”

          “I thought you were going to wait ‘til I was done in here, Feathers.”

          Adam cocked his head and scanned Nigel again. “Your penis is flaccid and your heart-rate is elevated. Doesn’t that mean you’ve finished?”

          “Just…fucking wait in the living room, on the fucking couch, OK?”

          “Alright, the water is quite cold.”

          And Adam was gone again.

          “Fucking angel is going to kill me,” Nigel muttered, pushing the water colder as he groped for his soap.

* * *

 

          Nigel stumbled into the living room, jeans hanging around his hips as he towel-dried his hair. “Still here, Feathers?”

          “Yes.” Nigel lowered the towel to see Adam inspecting a small pile of books with interest. “You don’t have many books.”

          “Is watching television a sin, now?”

          Adam frowned, indicating a stack of porn. “Not always. Though watching pornographic movies like these inspires lustful thoughts, and that’s a sin.”

          “Don’t need to watch dirty movies to think about fucking, Feathers.” Nigel grabbed a black shirt off the back of the sofa, sniffed it, and pulled it over his head.

          “No, there were no movies when you were in the shower.” Adam turned to face him, his halo slipping forward. He adjusted it with a small sigh. “You said my name while masturbating. Were you thinking of me or another person named Adam?”

          “Can’t you just read my thoughts?” Nigel felt something tighten in his chest.

          “No, it’s part of your free will.”

          “Well, it’s none of your fucking business who I think of when I yank my cock, anyway.”

          “Oh. OK.” Adam pursed his lips in thought. “Though I should inform you that masturbation is technically giving into lustful thoughts and is therefore a sin.”

          Nigel rolled his eyes. He shoved his damp hair off his forehead before fishing into his jeans for a pack of cigarettes. He lit one, and sighed, when it turned to ash in his fingers. He cast a weary look Adam's way. “Just don’t do that to my cock, ok?”  

          Adam shook his head, eyes solemn. “Oh, I wouldn’t. You need your penis for urination. It would be gravely harmful to do that to your body.”

          “You’re a saint,” Nigel deadpanned, grabbing his keys and wallet and shoving them into his pockets.

          “No, I’m not.” Adam huffed. “Saints and angels are not interchangeable. Saints are humans who have performed three or more miracles, while ang-”

          Nigel held up a hand. “I don’t care.”

          “But-”

          “Nope. This is me, committing the sin of not giving a shit, gorgeous.”

          “That is not technically a sin.”

          Nigel grinned. “See? I’m already doing better under your guidance.”

          Adam gave him a skeptical once over. Nigel shrugged.

          “So, the feathers, are they removable?”

          Adam cocked his head. Nigel sighed.

          “We’re about to go into the street, darling. I know this is New York, but wings might freak out the tourists.”

          “Oh!” Adam brightened. In a flash, the feathers were gone, leaving a handsome beaming angel in an off-white sweater and a blue button up. Adam plucked his halo off his head and sat it on the coffee table. Nigel liked the way it looked there. “Is this better?”

          Nigel’s mouth felt dry. “Yeah, you’re…yeah.”

          He turned on his heel and marched out of the apartment, Adam trailing behind him. Before he closed the door, Nigel stopped, plucking a flower from an arrangement on a small hall table.

          “A flower?”

          “Are fucking floral arrangements a sin, now?” Nigel shooed Adam out into the hall.

          “I don’t think so.” Adam leaned forward to smell the bloom. “Unless you plan to use it in the commission of a sin?”

          Nigel walked across the hall, threading the flower into the doorknocker there. He wrapped his knuckles lightly on the door before turning and heading for the elevators.

          “Are you wooing someone?”

          “No. I’m fucking defacing a door.”

          “I know you’re being sarcastic, but it would be rude to pursue someone who isn’t interested. Your past relationships indicate that you’re not always good at assessing someone’s interest in you.”

          Nigel whirled to face Adam, his face stormy. “Is it a sin to punch an angel?”

          “Yes.”

          “Then shut the fuck up.”

          “It’s also rude.”

          “You know what? I’m taking the fucking stairs. Don’t fucking follow me.” Nigel stomped away. Adam heard a door open and turned to see a hand pluck the bloom from the door knocker. He waved.

* * *

 

          Nigel fumed for three flights. He thought about Gabi, about the fish lipped little fuck she chose to throw their life away for. The memory burned in his chest. It was worse, because that little fucking angel was right, he should have seen it coming. Or at least been smart enough to cut bait before he goddamn cops got involved. With a sigh, Nigel paused, looking around the empty building lobby.

          “You still here?”

          “I know I’ve upset you, I don’t know why.” Nigel couldn’t see Adam, but the air changed around him. He could almost hear feathers flapping.

          “Do you like being reminded of your fucking failures?”

          Adam appeared in front of Nigel, the wings were gone and Nigel found he missed them. “I’ve never had a failure.”

          Nigel snorted. “We’ll see after you finish with me, Feathers. Come on, this way.”

          They walked in silence for a few blocks, arriving in front of a bodega. Nigel stopped. Adam bumped into his shoulder. “Why have we stopped?”

          Nigel nodded at the bodega. “Ready for your first sin?”

          “O-oh, um, I suppose?”

          “Good,” Nigel said. He raised a brow in challenge. “Steal a candy bar.”

          Adam blinked. “A candy bar?”

          “It was my first crime, I was 8,” Nigel grinned. “Shop owner caught me and beat my ass.”

          “OK. Um, should I get caught too?”

          Nigel laughed. “No! Just fucking steal the candy!”

          Adam blinked out and back in the matter of a heartbeat. He held out a Butterfinger. “Here.”

          Nigel scoffed, batting the candy out of his face. “That’s not fucking stealing, that’s fucking magic.”

          “I took it without paying!” Adam frowned, Nigel could picture him ruffling his wings.

          “If we’re going to do this, you have to promise me no angel bullshit. You walk in there, shove some candy into your pockets and walk out. You got me, Feathers?”

          Adam nodded. “OK, like a human. I got it.”

          Nigel watched as Adam took off for the store, taking exaggerated steps and looking around like the world’s most suspicious person. He covered his smile when Adam paused to look over his shoulder at Nigel and wave before he resumed his sneaking. Christ, this fucking angel was going to kill him.

          A few minutes later, Adam came shuffling out. He walked three steps away from the door before he started running, brandishing a Snickers and beaming as he made his way to Nigel.

          “I did it! I did it!” Adam crowed. “The man at the counter was busy looking down the shirt of a woman buying lotto tickets! He didn’t see me!”

          “Congratulations, Feathers, you’re a fucking thief.” Nigel watched the angel as he considered the candy bar. “How do you feel?”

          Adam looked up, meeting Nigel’s eyes with excited blue ones. “My heart-rate is elevated and I feel adrenaline surging through me. It’s…rather pleasant.”

          Nigel grinned. “You, angel, are a dirty goddamn sinner.”

          “Don’t blaspheme,” Adam admonished, a small smile on his lips. “Is it my turn?”

          Nigel shrugged. “Sure thing, Feathers, a deal is a deal.”

          “Good.” Adam bounced on the balls of his feet. He handed both candy bars to Nigel. “Please return these for me.”

          Nigel set his jaw. “Really?”

          Adam nodded, looking very pleased with himself.

          “You can’t just fucking undo every sin I make you commit.”

          “I can undo this one.”

          “Fine.” Nigel snatched the candy and stuffed it into his pockets, raising a brow. “I have to buy a new pack of cigarettes, anyway.”

          He could feel Adam frowning at his back as he walked toward the store, the sensation made him smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all are the bees knees. The comments are fueling me to knock this out as quickly as possible and seriously, I've re-read them all and I couldn't be more grateful. This week, I'd like to dedicate this nonsense to evertonem, who wasn't feeling well, AND forever wonderful Samui-Sakura88 who made me the most beautiful mood board for the fic [here](https://devereauxsdisease.tumblr.com/post/163529613003/samui-sakura88-for-devereauxsdisease-fic).

          Nigel woke up with an odd smile on his face. He’d never been one of those dumb fuckers that greeted the morning with a grin, but today he did. He had a date with an angel, a fucking real one at that.

          The smile widened. He thought about how Adam fussed and ruffled when he got frustrated with Nigel. He thought about the unabashed joy on the little angel’s face when he stole the candy bar, and the grin when he had ordered Nigel to return it.

          Nigel palmed his cock. He was in trouble, but he couldn’t be fucked to care. He had just gotten a satisfying grip when the air in his bedroom changed. Nigel paused. Nothing had outwardly changed in his dingy bedroom, but something felt different. The air smelled slightly of mint. A soft sound, like feathers shifting hit his ears.

          Releasing his cock, Nigel reached for the bedside table, pulling a cigarette from his fresh pack. He lit it, waiting. He smiled when it turned to ash.

          “You know, voyeurism is a sin, Feathers.”

          “I arrived to find you masturbating again.” Adam’s voice rang out in the room, but he remained unseen. “It seems to calm you, so I thought I should let you finish.”

          Adam appeared then, his cheeks looked flushed. Nigel’s cock throbbed. He longed to brush his fingers along Adam’s pink cheeks, maybe haul the boy into his bed. Adam seemed to notice Nigel's cock’s twitch, leaning over to look at the tent in the sheets before glancing up.

          “Is your penis responding to my voice?”  

          Nigel felt something close to fear stab at his chest. He swiped at Adam, making the little angel recoil and fluff his wings. “It’s not a goddamn dog, Adam.”

          “Of course it’s not!” Adam’s eyes were back on the bulge under the sheet. “But your heart-rate is elevating and your penis is more engorged with blood now.”

          Nigel shoved his hand through his hair. “Adam, either lend me a fucking hand or go wait in the other room.”

          Adam took a small step forward. Nigel’s heart leaped into his throat. Then, with a frown, Adam blinked out of sight.

          Nigel had just gotten a decent rhythm going when he heard a small voice from the other room. “Are you going to be very much longer? I don’t know how to turn on the television.”

          Nigel let his head fall back against the headboard.

* * *

 

          Adam wasn’t in the living room when Nigel emerged. He felt the sense of loss keenly. He checked the kitchen and even poked his head out onto his shit-box balcony – nothing.

          “Feathers?”

          Adam popped up in front of him. “One moment.”

          He was gone again. Nigel made coffee and waited.

          After a few minutes, Adam was back by his side, offering a smile. “Do you feel better now that you ejaculated?”

          Nigel rolled his eyes. “Fucking peachy. Where the fuck were you?”

          “Visiting.”

          “Visiting?” Nigel grinned. “How many people do you watch when they jerk off, Feathers?”

          Adam frowned. “Humans masturbate a great deal. Like monkeys.”

          Nigel laughed. “Don’t angels yank their pure little peckers?”

          “No. Technically, we don’t have genitalia unless we’re in host forms.”

          “So…” Nigel gestured with his cup at Adam’s person. “That’s just a rental?”

          “In a way.” Adam stretched his wings, filling up Nigel’s cramped kitchen. “We find this is the form that makes you the most comfortable.”

          “What the fuck does that mean?”

          “Humans have a funny prejudice against more than two eyes.”

          “Huh.” Nigel let that thought marinate. Maybe a bunch of eyes wouldn’t’ be too bad, if they were all as blue as the two looking at him. He took a sip of his coffee. “But you’ve got a cock right now?”

          “Yes.”

          “You should take it for a test drive.”

          “How would I test a penis?”

          Nigel smiled. “I’d suggest an oral exam, personally.”

          Adam frowned, his wings curled around his body. “I know you’re making fun of me.”

          Nigel’s heart dropped. “How do you know that, gorgeous?”

          “Your eyes are getting crinkly and you’re showing me your teeth.”

          Nigel drained his coffee and sat the mug in the sink. “I’m teasing gorgeous, not making fun.”

          “What’s the difference?”

          “You make fun of people you don’t like, you tease your friends.”

          A flush creeped up Adam’s cheeks, he dipped his head beneath his wing. “O-oh.”

          Nigel bit his lip and resisted the urge to throw the angel against the wall and teach him exactly how much fun having a cock could be. He coughed, trying to convince his cock to settle the fuck down. “You, uh, you ready to sin?”

          Adam nodded, feathers still obscuring his cheeks.

* * *

 

          “This is childish.”

          Nigel smiled. “It’s still a sin.”

          “I don’t…I don’t know what to do.”

          “Yes, you do.”

          Adam rolled his neck and fluffed out his feathers. “God…God. Damn It.”

          Nigel crowed. “That was great, gorgeous!”

          “It was stupid.” Adam frowned. “Are you ready for your good deed?”

          Nigel glared. “Oh, hell no. You’re doing that more than once.”

          “What?”

          Nigel grinned and picked up a pad on the coffee table, flipping to a page and handing it to Adam.

          “These are just vulgarities.”

          Nigel nodded, “All the best fucking ones.”

          “I have to say them all?”

          Adam looked down at the list again, his halo slipped forward and over one eye. Nigel leaned forward and adjusted the halo on Adam’s curls. “Every fucking one. Get creative, you can use these words in basically any combo.”

          Adam sighed. “God fucking damn it?”

          Nigel huffed a laugh, reaching for his pack of cigarettes. Adam raised an eyebrow. Nigel snarled, but tossed the pack back onto the coffee table.

* * *

 

“Jesus shitting Christ!” Adam shouted, beaming when Nigel collapsed onto the floor in a fit of giggles. He paused, looking for another combo. “God cock sucking shit balls!”

          Nigel howled again, tears running down his face as he laughed. Adam felt a thrill, it made him stretch his wings a bit.

          “You’re smiling, Feathers,” Nigel wheezed, pointing at Adam. “You fucking like this.”

          “I enjoy making you laugh,” Adam said, smile still in place as his eyes flitted away from Nigel’s. “Your teeth are crooked and your eyes get small and shiny, you look very handsome like that.”

          Nigel’s smile faltered as his stomach clenched. Handsome. Feathers thought he was handsome.

          “I’m sorry.” Adam’s mouth ticked, back to the concerned little moue he wore at their first meeting. “You’re not laughing anymore. Did I make you uncomfortable with my goddamn asshole mouth?”

          Nigel laughed again, softer and a little breathy, as he sat up. His hand found the edges of Adam’s wings, the crests of the feathers felt so soft against his fingertips. Adam didn’t move his wings away.

          Nigel cleared his throat. “OK, gorgeous, what’s my good deed?”

          Adam fiddled with his hands, fingers tapping. He looked up, but past Nigel. “Technically, I committed two sins today, so I think you should do something very good.”

          “Two?”

          “Yes. I blasphemed and dishonored my father.”

          Nigel rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m surprised they’ll let you back into heaven.”

          “Oh, it would take a formal complaint and a hearing before I could be denied access to heaven.”

          Nigel opened his mouth, then closed it. He shook his head and tried again. “We’re getting off track, Feathers. What’s my deed? Save a bus full of nuns from plunging off a cliff? World peace?”

          “Don’t go tonight.” Adam was back to tapping on his thighs.

          “What?”

          “Don’t go to your meeting with your friend.”

          Nigel froze. “How the fuck did you know about that?”

          Adam shrugged, his wings began to wrap around his shoulders. “You talked to him on the phone yesterday. And the day before.”

          “Feathers,” Nigel sighed, trying to pick his words carefully. “It’s business.”

          “We made a deal.” The furrow in Adam’s brow emerged again.

          “Ask me for something else,” Nigel leaned forward, but Adam scooted away. “I’ll save a cat in a fucking tree or-”

          “Nigel,” Adam’s voice was soft. “Don’t go.”

          Nigel sighed. He couldn’t skip out on this meet. Darko was counting on him. He couldn’t exactly ring an hour before and tell Darko that a cute angel had asked him not to go. But Adam seemed so agitated. It would almost be a kindness to lie.

          “Alright, feathers, I won’t go.”

          “Really?” Nigel’s gut twisted at Adam’s smile, so bright and beautiful. “Thank you.”

          Nigel leaned forward, this time Adam didn’t evade his hands. He plucked the halo off of Adam’s head and plopped it over his own. The halo slipped off his head immediately, clattering to the floor.

          Nigel looked at the golden ring on his scuffed floor. “Guess I’m not quite there yet, huh, Adam?”

          He started when he felt fine-boned fingers trace over his forearm. He glanced up to see Adam, still smiling at him. “You will be.”

* * *

 

          The deal had gone south almost the second Darko had produced the cash. There were too many bullets and shouts to keep track of where his friend was going, Nigel had to run. He pounded down an alley, huffing and hoping he had enough bullets to get him home.

          He heard a _click_ behind him. Turning, he saw the big Ukrainian with the scar holding a glock about a foot from his skull. Nigel had time to blink before the trigger was pulled.

          He waited for the pain, but felt nothing.

          When he opened his eyes, white feathers filled his vision. He pivoted, to see Adam, trembling and glaring at him. Nigel had spent long hours imagining what it would be like to be cocooned in Adam’s feathers, but now, he only felt a deep sense of shame as he looked into Adam’s furious blue eyes.

          “LIAR,” Adam hissed. He surged into the air, the giant Ukrainian began shouting and pointing at the angel. Adam flapped his wings once, the force sent Nigel and the other man flying.

          Nigel woke up crumpled by a fire escape, Adam and the man with the gun were gone. He shook his head, every muscle in his body ached. He braced against a building as he straightened up, looking for his little angel.

          “Adam? ADAM!” Guilt and shame twined in Nigel’s chest, he felt cold and sick. “Feathers, please.”

          Nigel’s voice echoed down the alley, after a moment, he began to limp home.

* * *

 

          Three days.

          Three fucking days.

          Nigel had talked, pleaded, and even tried saying the prayers he half remembered from the orphanage, but his angel was nowhere to be found. He tried to explain, but the air around him felt wrong. He couldn’t smell mint or hear the light sound of feathers shifting – Nigel knew he was alone. It hurt more than the bruises on his skin. He ignored Darko’s calls and stayed in his apartment, hoping Adam would show mercy.

          On Thursday, Nigel ventured to the bodega. As he put milk and eggs on the counter, he glanced at the candy bars. He asked the clerk for a carton of cigarettes and stuffed a Snickers into his pocket when the man turned around. He paid and left, milling around just outside the bodega, hoping to hear a soft admonishment.

          When none came, Nigel walked back into the store.

          “Sorry,” he said, shifting his bag and holding out the Snickers. “Must have fallen into my bag.”

          The man raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

          On his way back to his place, Nigel stopped at the apartment across the hall. He looped the grocery bag over the doorknob and knocked. Then hurried into his apartment. He didn’t feel like talking.

* * *

 

          After finishing the remnants of his vodka, Nigel had a plan – and a bit of a headache.

          “You want to fucking sulk?” Nigel shouted at the ceiling. “Well, I’m going to fucking sulk too!”

          He shoved three cigarettes into his mouth and lit them. Clutching them together he began to puff, blowing smoke to heaven.

          “God is a fucking asshole, Adam! Him and his fucking bearded hippie kid. Fucking losers. Goddamn burning bush cunts! The lot of them!” He waited, sucked in more smoke. He started to put the cigarettes out, but felt the air change. He could smell mint. With a snarl, he shoved the cigarettes into his mouth and started ranting. “You know what else, Feathers? I had lustful fucking thoughts. All the fucking time. Any time you’re in a room my cock is half hard. YOU HEAR ME? Those gorgeous fucking eyes and that mouth. You want to know the things I’d do to that mouth, ADAM? Christ, I’d die a happy man if I could just run my cock through your-”

          The cigarettes in his mouth turned to ash. Nigel smiled as he spat the slag from his tongue.

          “You might as well come out,” Nigel said to the empty room. “Or shall I tell you about the sounds I think you’d make with my tongue in your ass?”

          Adam appeared in a blink, arms crossed and wings back. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

          “Good, shut the fuck up, then. I want to talk to you.” Adam fluffed his feathers and glared at the floor, but he stayed put. It was more than Nigel had a right to hope for. He ran a hand through his hair, before moving closer, trying to catch Adam’s eyes. “I’m fucking sorry, Adam. I shouldn’t have lied, but if I didn’t go, it would have meant leaving Darko alone for a deal. They would have killed him, Feathers.”

          Adam remained still, eyes still fixed on the scuffed linoleum. “You lied.”

          Nigel thought about his beautiful angel branding him with that word in the alley. He had seen Adam’s power then, and it made Nigel feel worse that such a magnificent thing would bother trying to help him.

          “I shouldn’t have lied. I’m a fucking shit for doing it.” Nigel hesitated, trying to find a tack to take that would keep Adam with him for a few more minutes. “But…But doesn’t the big man upstairs believe in forgiveness? In second fucking chances?”

          Adam looked up, still frowning. “You mean the goddamn burning bush cunt?”

          Nigel smiled, wide and toothy. “That’s the one!”

          Adam’s mouth curled for a moment before settling back into a frown. His wing wrapped around him. “Second chances are only granted to those who are sincere in their repentance.”

          “I’m sincerely fucking sorry, Adam.”

          “I know.”

          “Then, will you forgive me?”

          Adam drew his lips into his mouth, gnawing on the weight of Nigel’s request. He nodded. His eyes met Nigel’s, he looked hurt. “I’m still angry.”

          Nigel sighed and sat on his couch. “I know, Feathers.”

          Adam wandered around the living room like he was looking for changes to the shithole apartment before settling next to Nigel. After a few minutes of silence, Nigel let his hand reach out and touch Adam’s wing. The feathers ruffled, but Adam didn’t pull away. They sat together, Adam brooding at the floor and Nigel absently running his fingers through the downy plumage.

          Adam shifted his wing, allowing Nigel’s fingers more access. Nigel hummed quietly, too nervous to express his pleasure with words and break the spell. He watched his fingers trace over the snowy white wings. His hand halted abruptly.

          There, in the middle of Adam’s left wing, were three blood red feathers.

          “What the fuck happened here?” Nigel was on his knees inspecting the wing. Guilt crashed back into his chest when he thought about the placement of the mark. He caught Adam’s chin and forced the angel to look him in the eyes. “Is this where the bullet hit? Are you fucking injured?”

          Nigel’s fingers roamed over Adam’s face and wings. He didn’t even know what to do with a wounded angel. Would bandages and stitches work?

          “It’s just a mark.” Adam tried to move his wing, but Nigel held fast.

          “A mark?”

          “I committed a sin.” Adam blushed, he pulled his wing free and stretched it. “This is my punishment.”

          “You mean the cursing?” Nigel frowned. “Shit, Feathers, can’t you explain that was my fault? You didn’t-”

          “My sin was pride.” Adam’s eyes were focused somewhere over Nigel’s shoulder.

          “What?”

          “I disobeyed St. Peter’s orders and interfered.” Adam’s blush was stronger now. “I-It was prideful to think I knew better than him…Now, all the others will know what I did.”

          “Disobeyed?” Nigel studied Adam’s face, there was something he wasn’t understanding. Adam caught his eyes, then, and Nigel felt his heart clench. “You weren’t supposed to save me.”

          Adam shook his head. “You chose. You had free will and I- I shouldn’t have-”

          “Adam, I-” But what was there to say? Nigel had somehow convinced Adam that he was worth kindness. And Nigel had repaid him with lies and humiliation.

          They sat for a long time, Nigel quietly stroking Adam’s mark.

          “You know, red suits you,” Nigel’s voice was hoarse. He tapped the mark “I like it.”

          Adam looked up, he smiled softly when he caught Nigel’s eye. “I like it too.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really can't thank you all enough for the incredible comments. Seriously, it's keeping me going and I'm really hoping to get the next two chapters out next week. So, if you're enjoying, let me know, and I'll keep writing like a loon!  
> This chapter is again dedicated to Samui_Sakura88 for AGAIN creating a mood board that I'm not worthy of. Check it out [here](https://devereauxsdisease.tumblr.com/post/163646011368/samui-sakura88-for-devereauxsdiseases-fic).   
> This chapter is shameless nonsense with puppies, kittens, AND pot. So you know, you've been warned. And thank you to everyone for reading.

          Nigel had a hangover, but the throbbing at his temples didn’t stop his smile. He sat up with a groan, scratching his chest.

          “Feathers? I’m going to shower and jerk off,” Nigel stretched and yawned. “Start the fucking coffee.”  

          He padded naked into the bathroom, pausing when he smelled mint. “It’s the circular button on the fucking side, Adam.”

          The scent of mint faded as he started the water.

* * *

 

          Adam was inspecting the coffee maker when Nigel found him in the kitchen. His wings flapped slowly as he studied the carafe and sniffed at its contents.

          “Want a cup?”

          Adam turned and Nigel watched with a grin as the angel’s eyes trailed over his bare chest, pausing at his boxer briefs. Adam’s wings fluffed, the plumage seeming to puff as he continued to stare at Nigel’s damp skin.

          “Adam?”

          Blue eyes snapped to Nigel’s. “Yes?”

          “You want some coffee, Feathers?”

          Adam shook his head. “It smells horrible.”

          Nigel shrugged, brushing past Adam with a wink. “Pick your good deed early gorgeous. We have plans for tonight.”

          “We do?”

          Nigel nodded, gulping down his coffee. He felt eyes on his throat as he drank, so he stretched his chin higher – giving Feathers a little show. When he lowered the mug, Adam flushed and picked at his wings. Nigel sat his mug in the sink and walked by Adam, close enough to brush his bare chest against the angel’s wing.

          “Don’t molt in my kitchen, Feathers,” Nigel whispered as he walked to the bedroom. 

* * *

 

        “What the fuck kind of good deed is this?” Nigel grumbled as a brown kitten kneaded a hole in his Ramones t-shirt. Adam had dragged him to the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition two hours ago and so far, he’d dumped food into bowls, helped pick up shit, and listened to so much barking that his goddamn head was throbbing. Now, he was being beaten up by a fucking kitten. 

          “We are helping them socialize.” Adam explained, smiling as a kitten crawled up his sweater to bat at his ear. Nigel wondered what the kitten would do if the fluffy bastard had Adam’s wings to play with. “Also, you’re giving of yourself.”

          “This little fucker is fucking my shit up,” Nigel pointed an accusing finger at the kitten, who hissed and swatted at him. “Fuck! Little fucking beast.”

          He heard a huffy noise and glanced up, Adam was laughing. Nigel didn’t want to think about the warm feeling in his chest as he watched Adam laugh. He stuck his finger in the kitten’s face, encouraging it to swipe again. Nigel started sword fighting the kitten, making little sound effects as he dueled the furball.

          Three more cats of varying sizes joined the little clawed shit on Nigel’s lap, all trying to bring his hand down. Nigel hissed when a claw caught the inside of his wrist and tore into the flesh.

          Adam’s laugh grew so loud it startled the kitten on his shoulder. “Should we ask the lady for a new task? I don’t think cats like you.”

          “I don’t fucking like them either,” Nigel groused, brushing at the furballs on his lap so he could stand. The little brown fucker made a grab for his jeans, sinking his teeth into the hem.

          “We could try dog walking?” Adam suggested, gently removing the kitten from Nigel’s leg.

* * *

 

          Nigel was laughing so hard his stomach hurt. This was the third time Adam had stopped on the street to admonish the lab mix for his behavior. So far, the lab had gobbled up a pile of street goo, shit on the corner in front of a toddler, and barked at a taxi.

          “I do not understand why you’re pulling on your leash. You’ve voided your bowels, there is no need for any type of hurry!”

          “Feathers, I don’t think that mutt is going to listen as well as I do.”

          Adam looked up with a glare, the dog took the opportunity to take off dragging Adam down the street.

          “He listens exactly as well as you do!” Adam yelled as he tugged on the dog’s leash.

          Nigel bent over, near hysterical with laughter. He wrinkled his nose when the small terrier on his leash hopped up to lick his chin. Nigel scratched the dog’s ear. “Alright, Buster, I’ll come back and fucking walk you again next week, OK?”

* * *

 

          Nigel took Adam the long way home to his apartment. He found a simple pleasure in strolling with the little angel, listening to his observations about humanity and his complaints about cat hair, which had apparently taken up residence in his sweater. Nigel wondered if Adam would mind if he adopted Buster, Nigel liked the pooch’s surly attitude. Adam had liked the cats more, but…

          Nigel stopped dead.

          _When the fuck did he start playing house with an angel?_

         Adam was a scold, fussy, and always telling him what to do. Fuck, he hadn’t had a decent smoke in nearly a week.

          “Nigel?” Blue eyes peered into his. “You’ve stopped.”

          “Sorry, yeah,” Nigel shook his head. “Fucking lost in thought.”

          “Were you thinking about the dogs? You seemed to like the dogs.”

          “Yeah, I fucking did.” Nigel laughed. “Did you see the way Buster barked at that pug? He’s a fucking scrapper.”

          “You should adopt him,” Adam said with a decisive nod. “Dogs have been shown to lower humans’ blood pressure. Perhaps you wouldn’t have to masturbate so much if you had a dog.”

          _I wouldn’t have to masturbate so much if I could just get a fucking hand on your dick._

“Nigel? You’re muttering.”

          Nigel shrugged a shoulder.

          “Can’t adopt fucking Buster. You don’t like dogs, Feathers.” Nigel snapped his mouth shut. It didn’t fucking matter if Adam fucking liked dogs. Adam wasn’t living with him.

          Adam looked away, a tinge of color creeping up his neck to his cheeks. “I like obstinate things.”

          Nigel rolled his eyes, knocking his shoulder into Adam’s as he started walking. “Don’t get cocky, you don’t have me fucking trained yet.”

          “Nigel! Stop!”

          Nigel halted mid-step, turning to check on his angel. Adam offered him a big grin. “Good human.”

          Nigel narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t keep the curl from the corner of his mouth. “Go fuck yourself, Feathers.”

* * *

 

          “Re flooring your apartment isn’t a sin.” Adam watched with interest as Nigel loosened a linoleum tile in his living room. Nigel dug into a hollow in the floor, producing a small black case. He turned, winking when he tossed the case onto the coffee table.

          “This sin is a two parter, so get comfortable.” Nigel opened the case revealing rolling papers, bits of plant in a baggie, a small metal container, and notecards.

          “This is drug paraphernalia.”

          Nigel grinned. “Don’t worry, Feathers. It’s not the hard stuff.”

          “I don’t like smoking, Nigel.”

          “Too bad, I get to pick your sin. That’s the deal, Big Bird.” Nigel nudged Adam, who smiled a little. “Look, you can incinerate a whole fucking pack of my smokes after, OK? Just one joint.”

          Adam sucked his lips in to chew on them, considering. Nigel watched with rapt admiration when Adam’s lips emerged, pink and slick. Adam nodded. “Just one marijuana cigarette, no more.”

          Nigel crossed his heart. “One joint. We can always switch to a bong later, k?”

          “A what?”

          “Never mind, just help me out here.”

          Nigel pulled a few buds out of the baggie, picking a few stems off of the greenery before dropping it into the metal container. He sealed the lid and handed it to Adam.

          “Here, turn the top.”

          Adam fiddled with the grinder, eventually finding a satisfying rhythm. Adam’s halo slipped over his eye as he concentrated on the grinder, Nigel adjusted it and let his fingers linger in Adam’s curls while the boy was distracted.

          Folding a rolling paper, Nigel sat it aside. He cut a strip from a notecard, rolling it into a crutch and sitting it on one side of the paper. He felt a weight on his shoulder and started when he realized Adam was resting his chin there, curiously watching.

          “What’s that?”

          “It’s like the filter.”

          “Oh.” Adam went back to grinding and Nigel missed the weight of his chin terribly.

          “Alright, Feathers, let’s see how you did.” Nigel took the grinder and opened it, inspecting the contents. “Fucking look at you! Already an A-1 fucking pot head.”

          Adam fluffed his feathers, like he always did when Nigel complimented him. Nigel smiled to himself as he rolled the joint, carefully packing the weed as tight as he could. When Nigel raised the paper to his lips, he paused.

          “Here.” Nigel shifted, holding out the joint. “Lick the paper to seal it.”

          “Is that sanitary?”

          “I’m not afraid of your mouth, Feathers.” Adam ruffled a little at the tease, but leaned in to lick the paper between Nigel’s fingers. The soft brush of the angel’s tongue against his fingertips made all the blood in Nigel’s body rush south.

          “Your heart-rate is elevating.”

          “Just fucking excited to be allowed to smoke for once.”

          Nigel couldn’t quite meet Adam’s eyes, but he couldn’t resist pressing his fingertips to his lips and chasing the phantom traces of mint he found on them. Clearing his throat, Nigel found his lighter and sparked the joint.

          “Watch me,” Nigel instructed. He brought the makeshift cigarette to his lips, inhaled deeply and held his breath until his lungs burned. Exhaling through his nose, he winked as he held out the joint.

          Adam studied the smoldering roll of papers for a moment, his nose wrinkling. With a sigh, he took the joint and placed it to his lips.

          Adam started coughing immediately, his eyes watering as he thrust the joint back at Nigel.

          “This is not enjoyable at all.”

          Nigel laughed. “You have to hold the smoke a little longer, Feathers.”

          “I don’t like it, it burns.”

          “Most good things do, at first.” Nigel was starting to feel a little loose, he leaned closer to Adam. He should just pack the rest of the shit in a bong, it would be easier for his little angel. But just as Nigel was about to suggest that, inspiration struck. “Want me to help you?”

          Adam’s eyes looked a little funny when he nodded, they seemed darker. Nigel shook his head, Darko always did get the potent shit.

          Nigel took the joint from Adam’s fingers. “I’ll inhale, then breathe the smoke into your mouth, OK? All you have to do is inhale when I exhale.”

          Adam nodded again, he seemed dazed. Nigel inhaled, the smoke burned less the second time. He leaned over to Adam, resting a hand on the back of the sofa next to his wing and caging the angel. Adam’s mouth dropped open and Nigel fitted his lips just above Adam’s. He blew the smoke slowly into Adam’s mouth, brushing his lips against the angel's. He could feel Adam inhaling below him, small hands clutched at the front of Nigel’s shirt. When Nigel was out of breath, he closed his mouth, allowing one final brush of the lips. He closed Adam’s mouth with a finger.

          Nigel shifted, moving his mouth next to Adam’s cheek. “Good, now hold it, just for a ten count, darling.”

          Adam nodded, but there was an odd tension in him. Nigel laid his hand on the flat of Adam’s chest, fingers rubbing softly. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five four, three, two – exhale, Adam.”

          The smoke billowed from Adam’s mouth. His eyes were wide, but he coughed less. Nigel realized Adam’s fingers were still twined in his shirt.

          “You OK, Feathers?”

          “Do that again,” Adam was near breathless.

* * *

 

          Adam was sprawled on Nigel’s chest, his wings flapping lazily. Nigel was trying to picture his grandmother’s tits – anything to keep the blood from rushing to his cock. Adam had taken about seven hits before he started giggling and swaying. Nigel had brought him to his chest to keep Adam from slipping off the couch, but now it all seemed like a horrible mistake.

          “Hey Adam, look.” Nigel blew the last of the smoke into a ring over their heads. “I’ve got a fucking halo.”

          Adam looked up and started giggling again. “You’re not an angel. I’m an angel.”

          Nigel grinned. “Speaking of, Feathers, you ready for part two of your sin tonight?”

          Adam cocked his head, wings flapping a little faster. “Is it lust?”

          “What? No!” Nigel’s heart was pounding in his chest. _Did Adam fucking know? Was he offended?_

          “Oh,” Adam sat up, adjusting his halo. “That’s disappointing.”

          Nigel froze. “What?”

          Adam turned to Nigel, brow furrowed. “My tongue tastes like periwinkle.”

          Adam started giggling again. Nigel joined him.

* * *

 

          Adam stared at the feast before him. It smelled odd. His stomach rumbled however, and Adam frowned – he had never felt hunger before.

          Nigel clapped his hands.

          “Tonight, we’re doing fucking gluttony.” He waved at the coffee table full of boxes. “These are all the best fucking high foods and we’re trying them all.”

          “They smell…strong.” Adam opened a paper box, peering at its contents.

          “What? They smell fucking delicious.”

          “This looks slimy.”

          “It’s lo mein. It’s fucking greasy.”

          “Oh, OK.” Adam touched it and recoiled. “I don’t like it.”

          “Jesus fucking Christ,” Nigel threw his hands up. “I’m going to take the poblano chicken across the hall, when I get back, we’ll find your picky feathered ass something to eat.”

          “Across the hall?” Adam looked up with interest. “You’re visiting your friend you bring flowers to? Can I come?”

          “No.” Nigel pointed at the couch. “Find something you’re willing to eat, we’re stuffing ourselves tonight.”

          “OK.” Adam sighed and looked at the boxes with distaste. “Oh, and Nigel? I don’t have any feathers on my behind.”

          “Good to fucking know.” Nigel slipped out the door.

* * *

 

          “OK, walk me the fuck through this again…Tacos?”

          “Odd consistency.”

          “Lo mein?”

          “Too greasy.”

          “Fucking cheeseburgers?”

          “Odd consistency, too greasy, and made from an odd mixture of cow meat and another meat blend I can’t identify.”

          Nigel raised an eyebrow at that. He crumpled up the burger menu and tossed it in the trash.

          “Nachos?”

          “Too messy.”

          “Fucking pizza?”

          “It has an unpleasant squish when you bite it.”

          “You feathered fuckers can eat food, right? This isn’t some sort of weird angel thing?”

          Adam shook his head. “I know an angel named Beth who likes something called kombucha and avocado toast.”

          “Well, Beth sounds like an asshole.”

          “She’s an angel, Nigel. How could a person be just an asshole? How would they walk?”

          “Fuck,” Nigel started snickering. “You’re still high as a fucking kite. We need to get some food in you, gorgeous.”

          “I thought the topping on the pizza was good…cheese?” Adam frowned. “Maybe I can just scrape off the cheese and eat it?”

          Nigel sat up, eyes bright. “Wait. I’ve fucking got it!”

          He ran into the kitchen.

* * *

 

          “What do you call this?” Adam was muffled through mouthfuls of noodles.

          “Easy Mac.” Nigel watched Adam stuff his face with a grin.

          “This is wonderful,” Adam shoved another heaping forkful into his mouth. “Why would you eat anything else?”

          “You can’t just eat Easy Mac your whole life, Feathers.”

          “I could,” Adam said solemnly, wolfing down another mouthful.

          Nigel watched in bemusement as Adam scraped the bowl. Adam had a smear of cheese at the corner of his mouth and Nigel desperately wanted to lick it off. “You want more?”

          Adam looked up with bright eyes, a smile creasing his face. “THERE’S MORE?”

* * *

 

          Adam moaned as Nigel pulled him toward his bed.

          “Nigel, I don’t feel well.”

          “I fucking bet you don’t. Who eats six boxes of Easy Mac in one sitting?” Nigel gently laid Adam on his bed, careful to arrange his wings so they wouldn’t be crushed. He should have stopped Adam from eating the last three boxes, but he had asked so sweetly for more. “Lay still, you’ll feel better if you give your body a chance to digest.”

          Nigel stripped down to his boxer briefs, noting with some amusement that Adam watched him with interest. Turning off the light, he slipped into bed next to Adam, gently patting the angel’s stomach. He covered them both with a blanket and faced Adam in the dark. He could hear the angel’s stomach gurgling, the noise made him smile.

          “Are we doing another sin now?” Adam edged closer to Nigel. The smell of mint intensified around the Romanian. “Lust?”

          Nigel blinked into the darkness. He reached out until he felt Adam’s wings. He ran his fingers through the featers, feeling Adam shiver at the gesture.

          It would be so fucking easy. Adam was high, pliant, and maybe more willing than Nigel had thought.

          Nigel frowned. Fuck it, he could do two good deeds in a day. “No, Feathers, we’re doing sleep right now.”

          Adam sighed, then burped. “Good.”

          Nigel raised an eyebrow. He could see Adam’s halo glinting in the low light of the room. With nimble fingers, he plucked the halo from Adam’s head and sat it on his nightstand.

          “That your way of telling me you don’t like me, Feathers?”

          “No, you’re very sexually appealing Nigel, but my stomach doesn’t feel good,” Adam mumbled. “Gluttony feels wonderful and terrible.”

          “It does.” Nigel agreed. “Get some sleep, you’ve got to sin in the morning.”

          “OK.”

          Nigel wrapped an arm around Adam’s waist, tugging gently until the angel was in his arms. Nigel expected resistance, but Adam only shifted, resting his head on Nigel’s shoulder.

          “Nigel, your heart-rate is elevating. Calm down or you won’t sleep.” Adam yawned, wrapping his wing around them, cocooning them in white down. In the dark, Nigel could barely make out the red mark on Adam’s wing, he touched it gently before settling under the weight of Adam’s head.

          Nigel fell asleep to the sensation of feathers brushing his face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I'm completely, INSANELY, overwhelmed by the response. I really did think this thing was going to be a goofy one shot. So if you're still reading, thank you. If you're commenting, know that I've probably memorized your comments and have recited them to my dog (he thanks you too).  
> This week, I need to send a special thank you to mxpopsiclestix who created the most beautiful pic of last chapter's shotgun kiss [here](http://mxpopsiclestix.tumblr.com/post/163821278731/fanart-for-devereauxsdiseases-fantastic-fic). I am overwhelmed by its beauty and forever flailing.

          Nigel woke up to blue eyes and warm breath on his lips. Adam still had them cocooned in his wings, Nigel could feel the feathers on his cheekbones.

          “You have an erection,” Adam blinked at Nigel.

          “Yeah, well, most mornings.” He shifted and noticed Adam didn’t move away. If he leaned forward now, he could kiss Adam. A splotch of red caught Nigel’s eye, rooting him to the spot. “So, uh, how much longer will you have the red wing, Feathers?”

          Adam glanced at it and gnawed at his lip. “I’ll probably get another one for not reporting in last night.”

          “Shit. I didn’t know.” That feeling churned in his gut again, slimy and cold. He wondered if it hurt when his feathers were turned, or if the humiliation of the mark was enough punishment for those feathered fucks. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of the answer.

          Nigel moved away. Distance. He needed fucking distance.

          “Do you need to go back? We can-”

          “No. I can spend the day with you. I’ll be punished whether I go back now or in a few hours.” Adam sat up, stretching his wings as he yawned. “Do you know what sin you want to do today?”

          Nigel knew, it had been swirling in his head since the first day Adam had appeared in his bedroom. He wanted to spend the day in a tangle of limbs, pulling soft little cries from Adam as he took him apart. Had the little angel ever really known pleasure? He seemed so curious.

          Adam’s wings flapped again and Nigel’s eye caught on the red spot.

          That fucking spot.

          Humiliation was the punishment for defiance, but what was the punishment for defiling an angel. More marks? Something worse?

          Maybe if Nigel kept Adam from heaven he could keep him from the feathered fucks that dared to mark his angel as anything other than perfect.

          “I think today, you should stay in bed.”

          Adam’s face flushed, his wings wrapping around his shoulders. He peered at Nigel over the white down. “Oh. OK.”

          Nigel walked over to the bureau and picked up his laptop. Laying it on Adam’s legs, he opened it.

          “Net-flix?”

          Nigel grinned, “Sloth, gorgeous. Stay here, watch some TV, I’ll make you another Easy Mac – and don’t do a thing. It’s fucking heaven.”

          Adam frowned, his wings drooped.

          “What?” Nigel poked his little angel. “Something wrong?”

          “No.” Adam shook his head. “Sloth…that, that is acceptable.”

          Nigel squinted at Adam, he looked disappointed. “I’m going to visit a friend for a few hours, you think you can relax here? Not eat so much Easy Mac you explode?”

          Adam nodded, already scanning the titles. “What is My Little Pony?”

* * *

 

          Nigel laid a tray of Easy Mac next to Adam, who was staring intently at some fucking pony named Apple Jack.

          “Dash wasn’t being a good friend, but now they’re all going to help with the harvest.”

          Nigel blinked. “OK.”

          “This is an interesting show; the morality is good even if the creatures on it are clearly fictional.”

          “I… _fuck_ …sure, why not?” Nigel ran his hand through his hair. “OK, Feathers, I’ve got you set up with your fucking ponies and something to snack on. You good here?”

          “Why can’t I go with you?”

          “Because you’re sinning, remember?”

          Adam frowned. “You’ll be back?”

          “Of course, Feathers!” Nigel reached out and stroked Adam’s wing. “We can have dinner, maybe find something on Netflix that isn’t about cartoon fucking horses.”

          “They’re ponies.” Adam looked up. “What else would we watch? Your pornographic movies?”

          Nigel closed his eyes. “I’m going to go, you’re going to stay. We can discuss the other shit later.”

          Adam nodded and turned back to his ponies.

* * *

        Nigel paused before in front of the door. He straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his hair. Rapping his knuckles on the door, Nigel held up a flower and smiled.

          He heard the telltale thump as feet shuffled to the door. When it opened, Nigel was faced with a flinty stare.

          “I don’t hear from you for nearly two weeks and you think you can bring me a flower and a smile, huh?”

          “I’ve been busy, Giddy.” Nigel winked. “Brought you a kiss, too.”

          “Oh, well, you should have said.” Giddy tipped her wrinkled cheek up, raising an eyebrow. Nigel leaned down and pecked it obediently. She released her walker with one hand to softly smack Nigel’s face, before pressing a kiss onto his jaw. “OK, now that you’re forgiven, I have to go put my lips on.”

          She turned, maneuvering her walker with frightening speed as she thumped back to her bedroom. Nigel laughed, closing the door behind him.

          He had met Giddy a year ago when the elevator broke. She was teetering on a third-floor step when he found her. He had dropped his groceries and picked her up instead, marching up the remaining two flights and depositing her at the door across the hall. He had never noticed her before, but she had seen him. _You’re the handsome foreigner from across the way. Out at all hours and loud with your lady friends – I know you._

          Before Nigel knew what was happening, he was drinking strong coffee and eating jam biscuits with a 92-year-old woman. He didn’t mean for it to become a standing date, but he couldn’t sleep all day like Darko and Giddy didn’t mind his smoking or his language. _You sound like my Bill, god rest his foul-mouthed soul_.

          Soon, they had a regular movie date on Saturdays and coffee whenever Nigel could find the time. She reminded him of his grandmother, world weary and full of piss and vinegar. The time before the orphanage, when Nigel didn’t have to worry about food or beatings from the older boys, were filled with images of a grey-haired woman with papery skin, who would smile and hand him cookies.

          Giddy was a little more glamorous with her cropped grey hair and deep red lipstick, but she had the same translucent skin and kind eyes. He found himself peering into her fridge whenever he visited, then running to the bodega to grab what she needed.

          He did this now, opening the fridge and noting that she needed more milk, coffee, and some more of the fancy chocolate cookies she kept in the freezer.

          “You almost ready?” Nigel called with a grin. “All my other women move faster.”

          “Your other women aren’t worth the wait!”

          Nigel laughed, fishing a cigarette out of his pants. He lit it, and it turned to ash. “Goddamn it! Adam!”

          Adam appeared in a blink. “Yes?”

          “I fucking told you to fucking wait fo-”

          “Adam!”

          Nigel and Adam turned in tandem. Giddy was smiling and held out her arms. Adam immediately went to her and gave her a hug.

          “Hello, Gertrude.”

          “I was hoping you’d come today.” Giddy took Adam’s face in her hands, patting it affectionately. She turned to Nigel. “I told you about Nigel, my fancy man.”

          “Yes, you did, Gertrude.”

          “He calls me Gertrude,” Giddy said with a weary tone. “I’ve told him not to, but angels are funny little things.”

          Nigel knew his mouth was open. “You, you know about Adam?”

          “Of course I do!” Giddy laughed. “He’s my angel.”

          “Oh.” Nigel cocked his head. “OK.”

          Giddy thumped toward Nigel. “I know it’s strange Nigel, but Adam is a good boy. Can he come with us today?”

          “Sure.” Nigel felt like he was eight steps behind everyone else.

          Giddy held out her hand to Adam, who retrieved her purse. “Where were you this morning? You usually stop by.”

          “I was in Nigel’s bed.”

          Giddy raised a penciled eyebrow. She turned and smacked Nigel in the chest. “Two-timer! Go get me my cane and I’ll think about forgiving you.”

          Nigel grabbed the wooden cane and brought it to Giddy. She abandoned her walker for Nigel’s arm. He held her steady as they walked out the door. Before she closed up her apartment, she beckoned to the angel watching them.

          “Come along, Adam.” Adam’s wings disappeared as he moved to join them. Giddy leaned toward him and Nigel tightened his grip on her arm so she wouldn’t tip herself. “So, I’m dying to know, what’s Nigel like in bed?”

          “He snores, had five erections during the night, and one in the morning.”

          Giddy guffawed as Nigel flushed, sharing a small smile with Adam.

* * *

 

The matinee at Film Forum offered two choices: _Escape from New York_ or _Elevator to the Gallows_. Giddy had insisted on the one with the most shooting, as was her habit. Nigel deposited her and Adam into seats before leaving to retrieve their traditional tub of popcorn and cherry cokes with lime wedges.

          Nigel settled between Giddy and Adam, and tried to ignore the little surge of warmth he felt sitting between them. He offered Adam popcorn just to watch him sniff and wrinkle his nose in distaste.

          “Sorry, Feathers, they didn’t have Easy Mac.” Nigel felt Giddy watching him, and though he blushed, he refused to meet her eyes.

          When the movie started, Nigel divided his time watching Giddy and Adam. Giddy grabbed Nigel’s bicep, burying her face during the shoot outs and laughing like a kid.

          “Lord this reminds me of when Bill and I lived in Hell’s Kitchen.”

          Nigel glanced at Adam, who looked confused. He frowned at the screen until Nigel nudged him.

          “What is it, Feathers?”

          “Why would the government send a convicted criminal to rescue the President. Your government has several military groups that would be better suited to this task. I don’t think this scenario is plausible at all.”

          Nigel grinned and lifted his hand, stopping just short of stroking Adam’s curls. He dropped his hand and turned back to Giddy, who was watching him with a smile.

          “It’s been a few years, but I think you’re supposed to yawn and put your arm around him,” she whispered, raising a brow. Nigel threw a piece of popcorn at her.

* * *

 

          After the movie, Nigel helped Giddy to Winston Churchill Square, where she liked to sit and watch people go by. Adam seemed fascinated with the hobby, excitedly pointing out little details about everyone who passed. Nigel sat silently beside them, arm around Giddy’s shoulders, content to listen as the two chattered about bright colored hair and ear stretchers.

          “I’ll miss this,” Giddy said with a sigh. “I think I’ll miss New York.”

          “There are plenty of people to look at in heaven,” Adam assured her. “Even some with tattoos and bright hair.”

          Nigel frowned, looking at Giddy. She patted his knee. “How much longer do I have?”

          “Forty-six days,” Adam answered. Nigel’s heart stopped, he looked at Giddy with wide eyes.

          “My Bill is still waiting for me?”

          Adam nodded, eyes bright. “He’s very excited that you’ll be there soon. He can’t wait to show you the Canasta tournaments. He thinks you’ll like the pool very much, too.”

          Nigel’s throat began to tickle. He sniffed, snarling slightly as he tried to blink the moisture from his eyes. Giddy touched his cheek softly.

          “You don’t think he’ll be too upset about my fancy man, do you?”

          Adam shook his head, face serious. “No, I’ve assured him Nigel is a gentleman.”

          Nigel and Giddy both snorted. He tightened his grip on her shoulders and let his eyes swim a little as New York sped by.   

* * *

 

          Nigel dropped Giddy off at her apartment, with a smile and a promise to have coffee with her soon. He left, but Adam stayed behind – he had wanted to discuss Giddy’s death. Nigel had manfully fled the second death came up again, giving Giddy a peck before leaving.

          In his apartment, he ignored another call from Darko to think. Adam was Giddy’s angel. And then Adam was assigned to him. What were the odds…

          “Feathers?”

          Adam appeared on the couch. “Yes?”

          “How long have you known Giddy?”

          “I was assigned when the doctors told her about her heart.” There was no emotion in Adam’s voice and Nigel wondered just how many people his little angel had watched die. “She prayed and asked for an angel to help her. My concentration is in grief and death transition.”

          “When?”

          “Six months ago.”

          “You’ve seen me before, then, at Giddy’s?” Nigel felt something tenuous in the air.

          “It’s why I asked to be assigned to you.” Adam fluffed his wings, they began curling around him. “You bring Gertrude so much joy.”

          Nigel’s breath caught. “You asked?”

          Adam blushed, dipping his chin below his wings. “You weren’t technically a borderline case. St. Peter said the happiness of one old lady wasn’t important but-”

          “But you asked,” Nigel traced a finger along the edge of Adam’s wing, just shy of his flushed cheek. “You asked for me.”

          “Yes, I asked.” Adam met Nigel’s stare. “I knew you could be saved.”

          Nigel nodded, his chest felt funny, like wings were fluttering inside his ribs. “People don’t usually believe in me, Feathers.”

          Adam’s wings dropped, he frowned at Nigel. “They should.”

          Nigel laced his fingers with Adam’s, bringing the angel’s hand to his mouth. Adam stilled. Nigel leaned closer to Adam, a hair’s breadth between him and his angel. Adam flapped his wings nervously and Nigel’s eye caught a splotch of red in his peripheral vision. Nigel loved those red feathers, they were beautiful, but they weren’t intended to be. It was a symbol of what Adam’s belief in Nigel had brought him – degradation and disappointment.

          Nigel knew he’d never make it to heaven, but that didn’t mean he had to drag Adam into the pit with him. “Go home, Feathers. I’ll see you in the morning.”

          “I can stay.”

          Nigel moved back, shaking his head. “You’re in enough trouble because of me.”

          “Alright, I’ll see you in the morning, after you masturbate.”

          Nigel grinned, but his eyes were sad. “I’ll be here.”

          Adam was gone in a flash, and Nigel wanted nothing more than to call him back. He sighed, stripping off his shirt and tossing it in the corner. Something caught his eye on his way to his bedroom.

          A feather.

          Pure white and fluffy, it lay on the dirty linoleum of his hall. Nigel picked it up and studied it. It smelled of mint. He sprawled on his bed, thoughtfully running the feather along his jaw and over his lips. He could do this. He could do one truly good deed in his miserable life.

          With a sigh, Nigel reached for his smokes. The cigarette turned to ash on his lips. He laughed, in spite of himself. “I SAID GO HOME, ADAM!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I know everyone's been patient, so I can tell you that chapter six we're covering everyone's favorite sin...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, y'all, six chapters later, we FINALLY get to lust! I hope you all enjoy!  
> I have to say that I adore every single person who has kudos, commented or read this story, it's amazing to know anyone's enjoying my particular brand of nonsense. So thank you, yeah, you *waves*.  
> Also, if you're the reader who just sent me an anon message, you made me laugh, which I appreciate, because well, I just wrote something a little sad...  
> Once again, I must bow at the feet of Samui-Sakura88, who made yet another GORGEOUS mood board for this fic. Check it out [here](https://samui-sakura88.tumblr.com/post/163861564958/devereauxsdisease-for-feathers).

          Nigel knew Adam was in the room before he opened his eyes. The scent of mint was in the air and that soft rustling noise Nigel had become so fond of was just audible in the dark room.

          Blinking, Nigel looked around as he yawned. Adam was in stealth mode again, apparently not quite ready to show himself or start their day. The little angel liked to watch Nigel, and more and more Nigel found himself feeling lonely when he couldn’t sense the curious blue eyes on him even when the room seemed empty.

          Nigel started to get up, but paused.

          Adam liked to watch.

          Adam was interested in his body.

          Adam thought he was handsome.

          Sinking back in the bed, Nigel kicked at the blanket until it pooled at his feet, leaving him bare to the room. If Adam wanted to watch, he’d make it worth his fucking while. Surely it wasn’t a sin if they didn’t touch.

          Nigel ran his hand lazily from his neck to his stomach, trailing his nails through brambles of chest hair with a feather light touch. He rolled his neck, breathing deep.

          Nigel wondered where Adam was in the room, and how far he’d let this go before interrupting.

          Nigel reached for a little bottle of lube on his nightstand. He poured some into his palm and let the viscous fluid heat in his hand. Finally, he wrapped his slick fingers around his cock, half hard and filling rapidly, as Nigel inhaled more mint. The scent was stronger now, and Nigel moaned softly picturing Adam watching. With still no word from Adam, Nigel decided to take his time.

          Long, firm strokes worked his cock to hard and leaking in a matter of minutes. Nigel teased his foreskin, working it over the dripping tip of his cock and back again.

          “A-Adam,” Nigel groaned, rolling his whole body as he began to fuck his fist in earnest. “Fuck, F-Feathers, I n-need you.”

          The scent of mint grew so strong, Nigel could practically taste it on his tongue. Small gusts of air tickled his ear and Nigel realized it was breath. His angel was close enough to pant in his ear while Nigel tugged his cock.

          “Adam, _fuck_ , Adam please… _please_ ,” Nigel hissed as he worked himself faster, his head pressing into the pillows as his back arched.

          With his free hand he reached out, hoping to touch brown curls or white feathers. He was close, so fucking close that Nigel could feel the heat building in his spine as his balls drew tight.

          “ _Please_ ,” Nigel whispered, his feet tangling in the blanket as he worked himself.

          The touch, when it came, was so soft, Nigel thought he was imagining it. Fingertips trailing from his cheek, down his gasping throat, and over his heaving chest. The caress repeated as the panting in Nigel’s ear increased.

          Nigel rolled his whole body into the phantom touches, seeking pressure, proof that he wasn’t just getting off on wishful thinking. “Adam, Feathers, _please_.”

          “I’m here,” Adam breathed into his ear.

          Nigel bucked, choking on Adam’s name as ropes of come painted his stomach, making his toes curl and his thighs shake. As he came down from the sensations, Nigel realized he could see the hand idly stroking his chest. He turned. Adam was lying next to Nigel in the bed, watching Nigel with wide, dilated eyes.

          “Good morning, Feathers.” Nigel whispered, still trembling under Adam's fingers.

          “Good morning, Nigel.” Adam pulled away, reaching for the blanket and covering them both.

          He wrapped himself around Nigel, head resting on his shoulder and fingers toying with the Romanian’s greying chest hair. His wing fanned lazily above Nigel, two red splotches across them looked like blood on the snow. Nigel’s gut clenched at the sight, at the reminder of just how wrong this was. But Adam held him tighter, rubbing his face into Nigel’s pec and murmuring about sins of the flesh.

          It took Nigel a moment to realize that Adam’s hard cock was pressing into his hip. He shifted, offering some pressure to the hard-on experimentally and listening to Adam gasp.

          Turning, Nigel reached for Adam, dragging his fingers over Adam’s cheek and sinking them into the dense curls on the back of Adam’s neck. Drawing the boy in, Nigel claimed his mouth.

          Adam made a surprised noise, but melted into the soft sucking kisses Nigel peppered over his lips.

          “Adam,” Nigel whispered. “My fucking angel.”

          Adam moaned, rolling his hips into Nigel’s as he opened to his tongue. Grabbing Adam’s arms, Nigel tugged the smaller man on top of him, watching in awe as the angel fully unfolded his wings.

          “Christ, you’re fucking beautiful.” Nigel reached up, opening his arms to the wondrous man above him. Adam leaned in, eagerly pressing kisses to Nigel’s mouth as he rutted into Nigel’s thigh.

          “Adam… _fuck_ , gorgeous, just like that.” Nigel dropped his hands to Adam’s hips, adjusting the angel until every thrust drew a shuddering gasp from his soft pink lips. “That’s it, darling.”

          Adam lowered his head, kissing and nipping at Nigel’s mouth, seemingly frantic to find his own release.

          “Nigel! Nigel, I-” Adam opened his eyes, blown wide and hazy with lust.

          Nigel snaked a hand between them, offering firm fingers as he worked Adam’s clothed cock. The angel’s breathing shifted, then stopped all together.

          “Fall, Adam, it’s OK, I’ve got you.” Adam piked, his hips thrusting erratically. Nigel could feel the cock in his fingers pulsing.

          “F-fall,” Adam huffed. He began to collapse onto Nigel’s chest when he stilled. His eyes went wide and his voice trembled as he whispered, “Fall.”

          This time the word was filled with fear. He blinked out of the room before Nigel could ask what the problem was.

* * *

 

          Nigel spent four hours pacing his apartment, hoping to smell mint or hear the brush of feathers. Adam wouldn’t answer him and Nigel was becoming afraid that he’d finally done something irreversible to his darling.

          Finally, in a fit of nerves, he fled across the hall. Giddy had offered him a hug and a cup of coffee. Nigel told himself that he’d just enjoy Giddy’s hospitality for a while, but the second she laid a hand on his shoulder, he blurted everything out.

          “So, you’re in love with Adam?” Giddy studied him from over her coffee cup.

          Nigel nodded.

          Giddy squinted her eyes. “And that means you can’t be with him?”

          Nigel glared at Giddy. “I’ll never be a good fucking man, gorgeous. I’ve done too fucking much.”

          Giddy reached out and took Nigel’s hand. Her fingers were cold and frail, Nigel swallowed hard - he would only have this hand for 45 more days.

          “You don’t need to be a saint to deserve him, you know.”

          “I’ll ruin him,” Nigel whispered. “Just like Gabi. He’s not supposed to be with someone like me, it’s fucking hurting him. The marks on his wings? That’s because of me.”

          “He made the choice, Nigel, just like you did.”

          Nigel shook his head. “I can’t. Those other fucking angels, they’ll hurt him or kick him out. How can I let that fucking happen?”

          “I think we need more coffee, and another piece of crumb cake.” Nigel nodded, getting up to refill cups and put two more hunks of cake on their saucers. He carefully sat Giddy’s mug and plate near her before retrieving his own.

          Giddy took a sip of her coffee, smiling at Nigel as she patted his hand. “Did I ever tell you what I was doing when I met Bill?”

          “You were a nurse.”

          Giddy laughed. “Well, I was wearing the uniform.”

          Nigel frowned, furrowing his brow. Giddy, pursed her lips, eyes dropping.

          “The first time I met Bill, I charged him for the hour.”

          Nigel choked on a mouthful of crumb cake. Giddy waited patiently for him to stop wheezing.

          “I knew I didn’t want to be the prettiest girl in Dubuque, so I saved up all my money and moved to New York in '42.” Giddy shrugged. “Turns out, in New York, I was nothing special. But there were plenty of men on leave with cash to burn, and I needed to eat.”

          Nigel’s mouth quirked. He’d done worse for food. Hell, he’d done worse because he was bored.

          “So, I met my Bill,” Giddy’s eyes were far away, her smile fond. “He was my best customer. Always bringing me flowers and candies. Sometimes, he didn’t even want…what he paid for. Just took me to the pictures, out to dinner. When he left in ‘43, he gave me all the money he had. Said I should take myself to the pictures when I wanted, and think of him. I used that money for nursing school.”

          Nigel gulped his coffee, letting it burn as it slid down his throat. "He loved you."

          "He did." Giddy smiled sadly. "I just had to learn to let him."

          “You’re ages better than I’ll ever fucking be, darling.” Nigel tangled her fingers with his and kissed her hand. “You should have never sent Adam my way.”

          “Is that what you think?” Giddy laughed, leaning over the table to press a kiss to Nigel’s forehead. “I didn’t ask him to save you, Nigel. He picked you for himself. You should give Adam some credit.”

          The idea that Adam chose him swelled in Nigel’s chest, warm and wonderful. “What should I do?”

          “Why don’t you let Adam decide?”

          Nigel frowned into his coffee.

* * *

 

          Nigel was sitting on his bed, glaring at the feather between his fingers when the scent of mint intensified.

          “Oh, thank fuck, Adam?” Nigel stood.

          Adam appeared in the corner of Nigel’s bedroom, his face streaked with tears and his wings wrapped around his body.

          Nigel stopped dead.

          Adam’s wings were mottled with red, long streaks and splotches making the snowy white feathers look bloody and battered.

          “Oh, Adam,” Nigel stepped closer, not sure if he should touch his angel or not. A cold fury built in his chest. He’d tear heaven to pieces, rip the wings from every fucking angel that dared allow this to happen. “I’m so sorry, Feathers.”

          Adam began to shake, his wings falling away as he hunched over himself, rocking. Nigel went to him then, holding his darling tight and pressing soothing words into the patch of skin just behind Adam’s ear. He told the angel that he was beautiful, that red suited him, that he was the purest, kindest soul Nigel had ever encountered in this shitty world.

          The rocking slowed, and Adam’s breath evened. Nigel stayed where he was, wrapped around his angel, surrounded by the scent of mint and blood red feathers.

          A small hand found Nigel’s face, cool fingers drawing him to look at Adam.

          “Do you want me?” Adam’s eyes were still luminous with tears.

          “Adam, I-”

          “Do you want to have sex with me?” Adam clarified. There was something fragile in Adam’s eyes, and Nigel couldn’t bring himself to lie.

          “More than anything in the fucking world.”

          Adam’s wings flapped once, the force sent Nigel sprawling on his floor. Before he could move, Adam was on top of him, straddling Nigel and tracing his cheekbones softly.

          “I know what sin I want to commit.” He pressed his mouth to Nigel’s, licking at the seam of his lips.

          Nigel groaned, opening his mouth to suck on Adam’s tongue. His hands ran under Adam’s sweater, nails scraping lightly up the angel’s back. Adam shivered, arching his back as Nigel’s fingers found the base of his wings. Nigel explored the wings, feeling the power contained in such delicate looking appendages.

          Adam pulled back, lips pink and kiss swollen. “I want to be naked.”

          Nigel smiled. “I think that’s a great fucking idea, Feathers.”

          Nigel began to tug at Adam’s sweater when it disappeared in his hands. He blinked. His little angel was naked.

          “Fuck, that’s a handy fucking skill.”

          Adam grinned, tugging at Nigel’s shirt and pulling it over his head. Nigel leaned up, pressing kisses to Adam’s chest. The angel shuddered his wings falling around them and brushing against Nigel’s bare chest. Nigel melted back, letting Adam’s wings trace over him. He closed his eyes and tried to commit this moment to memory.

          “You like my wings.” Adam slid the feathers along the long scar in Nigel’s side.

          “Yes, I fucking do.”

          “You like me too, even though it’s a sin.”

          Nigel growled and pounced, attacking Adam’s neck with little biting kisses. “Especially because it’s a fucking sin.”

          Reaching his hand between them, Nigel coiled his fingers around Adam’s flushed pink cock. Stroking softly, Nigel locked his lips to Adam’s throat feeling ever breathy keen vibrating into his tongue. He sucked hard at Adam’s neck, hoping to leave his own mark on the angel, one that was created out of love.

          “T-there must be a m-mistake.” Adam panted. Nigel used his thumb to smear the pre-com down Adam’s shaft, pressing lightly on his frenulum.

          “What are you talking about Feathers?” Nigel worried a muscle in Adam’s neck with his teeth.

          “Th-this can’t be a sin.”

          Nigel stopped, pulling back to look into Adam’s bright blue eyes. Adam leaned forward to kiss Nigel softly, his hands reverently tracing the slopes of his cheeks.

          “Love can’t be a sin, Nigel,” Adam said, scrunching his brow and cocooning his wings around them. “It…it feels too good.”

           _Love_.

          Nigel’s chest lurched. He moved back, gently pushing Adam from his lap. “You need to go, Adam, before it’s too late.”

          “It’s OK, Nigel. I know what’s going to happen.” Adam smiled. It broke Nigel’s heart. “I’m willing to accept the punishment. It’s worth it.”

          “FUCKING LOOK AT YOURSELF!” Nigel struggled to his feet, rage bubbling black in his gut. Furious that Adam was stupid enough to love him and furious that he couldn’t let himself have him, there was nothing to do but yell. He stood over Adam, feeling sick. “Red goddamn marks, whoring yourself – for what? You think I’m going to stick around? What do you think is going to happen, Adam? I’m going to become some cocksucking lawyer or accountant? I barely have an education, Feathers. It’s either fucking drugs or fucking taking out trash at some shitty pizza joint. I can play house with you for a few fucking weeks, but I’ll go back to selling shit eventually. I’ll get shot at and probably shoot someone else. Sticking my dick in you won’t change that.”

          Nigel closed his eyes. If there was truly a god, Adam would just fucking leave. He laughed bitterly when he felt small fingers on his cheeks.

          “You’re crying.”

          “Get the fuck out, Adam.” He could do this. He could save his angel.

          Nigel could feel feathers on his fingers and strong arms rubbing his chest. “I don’t think you want me to.”

          “GET OUT!”

          Adam blinked out of sight. Nigel inhaled deeply, there was no mint in the air. He nodded, swiping at his eyes. With a sigh, Nigel grabbed a cigarette from the nightstand, the smoke burned in his lungs. He stared at the cigarette before stubbing it out.

          Picking up his cell, he tried to settle his breathing.

          “Darko? Fuck you, you fuck, I answer my phone when I fucking want to…Yeah yeah, deepest fucking apologies…You still need someone tomorrow? I’ll fucking be there. What? Fuck you, YOU sound funny. What the fuck ever, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

          Nigel hung up and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. He couldn’t smell mint. The tears returned.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's finally finished.  
> Again I am absolutely gobsmacked by all the attention this got and I just can't thank you enough if you read, hit the kudos button, OR commented on this fic. I've been trying to write a new Spacedogs AU, so I've been an utter jerk and not replied to anyone, but I assure you I've read, re-read, and memorized every wonderful note that you all have left me. I'm so grateful. Thank you.  
> If you'd like more Spacedogs, I'm hoping to start that new AU maybe next Monday? Hopefully I'll see you all then.  
> Until then, you are all the best, and I can't thank you enough.

          Nigel kept himself sinning as frequently as possible for a month. He threw himself into selling shit and knocking heads together. He smoked cigarettes constantly, though he’d often just let them burn in his fingers, watching the cigarettes turn to ash with a small frown.

          The second week without Adam, he brought Buster home from the shelter. The little terrier helped to distract him a bit, shredding Nigel’s dog shirt and pissing on the sofa when Nigel forgot to take him out. Giddy loved the little shit, feeding him biscuits from the table until he grew pudgy and Nigel was forced to take the fat fucker for walks.

          At night, Nigel would lie awake, absently stroking Buster’s ears and trying to keep his mind from Adam. When sleep came, it was filled with blood red feathers and teary blue eyes.

          On the rare nights Nigel had a peaceful sleep, he’d wake up to the smell of mint fading from his bedroom and Buster excitedly circling in the corner of the room, barking at nothing. Those mornings were usually worse than the sleepless ones.

          He still visited Giddy every day, but he didn’t like the careful way she watched him, something sad in her eyes.

          “His wings are white again,” said Giddy one afternoon, studiously keeping her eyes on Buster as she fed him a biscuit.

          Nigel stirred his coffee a little more aggressively than necessary, the spoon clinking hard against the porcelain.

          Giddy reached out her fingers, letting Buster duck beneath them to rub his head. “Personally, I liked the red.”

          Nigel glared at her. Giddy just sighed and continued scratching Buster’s ear.

* * *

 

          On Giddy’s last day, Nigel woke up feeling calm. He could smell mint in the air and Buster was sitting in the corner of the bedroom, wagging his tail at nothing. Nigel ignored it, like he always did, walking into the bathroom to shower. Adam never followed him in there, so he let the hot water wash the tears off his face. Today was the day he’d lose Giddy and Adam would have no reason to come back to this shit hole apartment building.

          When he pulled his shit together, Nigel shaved and dressed in his best shirt and cleanest pair of jeans. Giddy laughed when she saw his pressed black shirt.

          “Going to a funeral?”

          “Jesus Christ!” Nigel glared, but there was no heat to it. He followed her to her kitchen where she’d already poured the coffee. He raised an eyebrow at the fancy chocolate cookies on plates, but she waved him off.

          “If I’m dying today, I’ll be damned if I’m eating anything I don’t want to.” She smiled. “Which reminds me, if I’m still alive for lunch, I want green curry.”

          Nigel nodded, ignoring the constricting in his throat. “You, uh, want to see a movie or anything?”

          Giddy shook her head. “I don’t want to be the old biddy that died at the movie theater! I have my day planned.”

          Giddy’s plan, it turned out, was to listen to old Glenn Miller records, eat as many cookies as she could, and show Nigel pictures of Bill. Nigel loved every second of it, even as a vise tightened in his chest. He couldn’t smell mint, but as the hours ticked by he grew tense, waiting for the smell, waiting for the loss.

          Nigel blinked, clearing his eyes for the hundredth time, trying to focus on the picture Giddy was tapping.

          “And then that fool jumped in front of the taxi! Right on the hood. He said _you’ll goddamn stop for my wife the next time she whistles_. Lord, I thought he was going to go to jail.” Giddy looked up and smiled. Buster barked and sat at attention, staring at nothing. “Is it time already, Adam?”  

          Nigel couldn’t see anything, and that made it worse. He took a shaking breath, letting the scent of mint fill his lungs. He wished he could see Adam.

          Giddy reached for Nigel, drawing him close and kissing his cheek.

          “You’re a good man, Nigel,” she whispered into his ear. “And I’m not the only one who knows that.”

          Nigel felt the tears welling in his eyes, but made no move to blink them back. Giddy took his hand and squeezed it, before turning and nodding at seemingly nothing. The air shifted, and suddenly, Giddy’s fingers tightened their grip, her face breaking into a big excited smile.

          “Oh, Bill!” Giddy reached her hand out, still beaming. When it dropped, lifeless, to her lap, Nigel’s breath caught in his throat. He clutched at the fingers in his hand, but felt no returning squeeze. Buster pawed at his knee, whining while Nigel took deep breaths, Giddy’s limp fingers still entangled with his.

          Nigel called an ambulance for lack of a better idea of what to do with his friend. He locked Buster in his apartment and answered the paramedics questions in a daze, watching as they covered her with a nearby quilt and called for the coroner. It took over an hour for the body to be moved, and Nigel stared while he waited, the hole in his chest growing bigger.

          He was numb when he finally left her apartment, stealing her last box of cookies and storing them in his freezer before taking Buster for a long walk. It was only before bed that Nigel caught his reflection in the mirror. Giddy’s red lipstick was on his cheek. He touched it, but stopped suddenly when he saw it smudge.

          Nigel fell into bed with Giddy’s lip print on his cheek and Buster’s familiar warmth on his feet. He felt cold and empty as he gazed at nothing in the dark room. An arm wrap around his waist in the dark, he couldn’t see the limb, but the smell of mint infused the air around him. Nigel closed his eyes and let the tears come.

* * *

 

          Nigel was the only person who saw Giddy put in the ground next to Bill. She had arranged everything with some attorney who wanted to see Nigel at 4 after the funeral. It seemed horribly unfair that he was the only person at the grave. He wanted to tell people about her, to drag them from the streets to the shady spot under the tree.

          He wanted to give her one more spectacle to enjoy.

          He wanted to ask Adam if she was as happy as he hoped.

          When the gravediggers started shoveling dirt on her, Nigel left. He picked up Buster and took him to Winston Churchill Square, laughing when the terrier barked at the people passing by. He sat too long, lost in a memory, hearing snippets of Adam and Giddy’s excited chatter in his head.

          He was late to the lawyer, who didn’t look happy with his or Buster’s presence in his office. The thin-lipped man handed Nigel list of his inheritance – 19 records, a player, and check for $3,000. Nigel frowned at the list, he hadn’t wanted any of this, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn it down. The lawyer, eyeing Buster as the little dog sniffed at the foot of his desk, agreed to have the trinkets sent next week. He handed Nigel a check and a small manila envelope.

          “That’s everything,” The lawyer said, with an annoyed glance at Buster.

          “Thanks,” Nigel said, shoving the check into his wallet and tugging Buster out the door.

          Buster’s spine stayed rigid, glaring as he backed out of the office with Nigel.

          “I didn’t like that fucker either,” Nigel said, bending to scratch Buster’s ears as he turned toward the stairwell. He heard something jingle in the envelope and stopped on the landing. Sliding his finger under the flap, he ripped it open.

          A tarnished gold locket fell into his hand. He recognized the Navy anchor immediately, it had hung around Giddy’s throat. Nigel opened the locket, smiling at the woman with a strong jaw and flinty eyes, who seemed to be looking at a doe-eyed man with a crew-cut on the other side of the hinge.

          Buster got the note that slipped from the envelope, and Nigel had to pry the prize out of his tiny jaws. He shook it, trying to dislodge the flecks of slobber and straighten the teeth marks that marred the piece of paper.

 

>           _Dear Nigel,_
> 
> _I sent Bill away too, the day he offered me a ring. Don’t worry, the good ones always come back – even if you don’t deserve it. Take that money and go to the pictures on Saturdays. See something with plenty of shooting and think of me._
> 
> _Don’t send Adam away again. I don’t want to haunt you now that I’m finally with Bill._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Giddy_
> 
> _PS: The records are for Adam. He likes Artie Shaw best._

          Nigel looked down, smiling at Buster. “Pushy fucking broad, even in death.”

          He folded the note carefully and slipped it into his jacket. He fastened the locket around his neck and tucked it beneath his shirt.

* * *

 

          Nigel tossed the takeout bag on the coffee table. He fished out a plain hamburger and threw it into Buster’s waiting maw. He closed the bag, he wasn’t hungry.

          He took out a cigarette and lit it. It turned to ash in his fingers.

          Nigel’s heart thumped painfully, he could smell mint in the air. “I know you’re here.”

          Adam appeared in the corner with a small smile. Buster was too busy feasting on his good fortune to bother to bark. Nigel smiled back, rooted to his spot on the sofa. Adam walked closer and Nigel noticed he wasn’t wearing his halo or his wings.

          “I know you miss her, but I think you should know Gertrude is very happy,” Adam frowned at a pile of clothes on the floor, toeing them dismissively. “Bill was so excited to see her. They kissed a lot. I found it awkward to watch them kiss, but I suppose they missed each other.”

          Nigel nodded, his hands clenching into fists as he forced himself to be still. “Why are you here, Feathers?”

          “I miss you.” Adam’s eyes shot to Nigel’s, that same bright look dancing in them. “You miss me, too.”

          “Did Giddy tell you that?”  

          “You call for me in your sleep.” Adam’s fingers softly stroked through Nigel’s hair. “I come when I can.”

          Nigel let his eyes drop to the ground. He wanted to fall at Adam’s feet, beg him to stay. He looked up at Adam and that unbearably sweet smile.

          “I’ll never be good enough, Feathers.” Nigel muttered. “Not for heaven and not for you.”

          Adam nodded. “That’s true. The probability is very low that you’ll make it to heaven. Even if you do, it’s against the rules for angels and humans to fraternize.”

          Nigel heaved a great sigh, his chest constricting painfully. “Then go home, Feathers. Please.”

          Adam sat next to Nigel on the sofa, grinning. “I don’t want to.”

          “Please, Adam, if you love me, please go.” Nigel felt Adam leaning into his side. He wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around the little angel. He sat on his hands. “I can’t ruin you.”

          “You won’t, don’t worry! I ruined myself.” Adam leaned forward, stealing a kiss. “I took a transfer.”

          Nigel blinked. He stopped himself from chasing Adam’s lips and tried to focus on the words. “A…transfer? The fuck does that mean?”

          “I transferred, from heaven,” Adam said, as if that explained everything.

          Nigel shook his head. “I’m fucking sorry. Does that…did you quit?”

          “Not really,” Adam pulled Nigel’s hand free from his thigh, tangling their fingers together. “They used to call it falling – when an angel was cast from heaven and into hell – but since Dr. Lecter took over hell, the process is much easier. There’s no ceremony or formal casting down, you just have to fill out a form.”

          Nigel squinted, trying to wrap his head around this information. “You applied for a job in hell?”

          “Basically,” Adam squeezed his hand. “I would have filed when you sent me away, but I wanted to wait until Gertrude’s death. She went with me to submit the transfer papers.”

          Nigel laughed a little, still confused. “So…you’re a demon now?”

          “No.” Adam shook his head. “Dr. Lecter didn’t think I was suited for that. He found me a spot in Purgatory, working with his husband. He said I had a talent for behavioral modification.”

          Adam leaned forward again, and Nigel met him half way. The kiss was chaste, because Nigel couldn’t keep the smile off his lips. He wrapped his arms around Adam, and paused, pulling back.

          “So, did you lose your wings and halo when you transferred?”

          “Oh, I had to give up the halo.” Adam pulled back, standing and fidgeting. “But I still have wings.”

          Nigel squinted at Adam. “Why aren’t you showing them to me?”

          “You got upset when they weren’t white.”

          “I don’t give a shit about the color, Adam. I only gave a shit about those feathered fucks punishing you.”

          “Oh, OK.” Adam’s wings were there in an instant, unfurling to reveal solid plumage, the color of blood. Nigel sucked in a breath, eyes wide. He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

          “Jesus fucking Christ,” Nigel whispered, eyes fixed on the powerful wings.

          “Don’t-” Adam paused. “Well, I suppose you can blaspheme, if you want. But I still won’t tolerate the smoking.”

          “Still a bossy little thing, aren’t you, Feathers?” Nigel stood, grinning slyly as he approached Adam.

          “I don’t like smoking,” Adam said primly, fluffing his feathers. He ducked his head, cheeks flushing slightly. “Though maybe marijuana would be OK if we can kiss more while we smoke it.”

          Nigel’s smile grew toothy and crooked as he stood before Adam.

          “Well, since we’re both going to hell anyway.” Nigel bent, grabbing Adam by the waist and throwing him over his shoulder as he headed to the bedroom. Adam laughed, his wings fluttering. Nigel pressed his face up into the assault of feathers. Buster tried to follow them into the bedroom, but Adam _tsked_ and the little dog stopped barking and sat obediently on the sofa.

          “Un-fucking-believable,” Nigel muttered. “Took me a week to get him to stop pissing in the house.”

          “Obstinate things like me,” Adam said, his hands traveling down Nigel’s spine to squeeze at his ass.

          Nigel huffed, slapping at Adam’s ass and adjusting the angel on his shoulder. Nigel let Adam slip onto his feet when he got to the bedroom. Adam stayed close, winding his arms around Nigel’s neck and pressing kisses along his jaw. Nigel caught his pink lips, plundering Adam’s mouth as wings wound around him.

          Pulling back to catch his breath, Nigel raised an eyebrow. “Can you still do the instantly naked magic, or was that a heaven thing?”

          Adam beamed. He passed a hand over Nigel’s eyes. When Adam took his hand away, he was naked. Nigel grinned, pulling Adam to him and pressing kisses along his collarbone. Adam tugged at the back of Nigel’s shirt.

          Nigel felt something hot flash through his body and then the cold air of the room. He pulled back and looked at his feet with wide eyes. His clothes had fallen to ash by his feet.

          “Did you just fucking smite my clothes?”

          Adam blinked up at Nigel. “I-is that OK?”

          Nigel grinned. “We’re going to need a fucking vacuum if you keep this up.”

          “You don’t have a vacuum? Nigel, you really need to put more effort in to cleaning. An unsanitary-” Adam stopped when Nigel dropped to his knees. “What are you doing?”

          “Shutting you the fuck up.” Nigel pressed his face to Adam’s hip, nipping softly at the knob of bone protruding from the skin. Adam clutched Nigel’s hair, a little gasp leaving his throat. Nigel nosed toward Adam’s flushed cock, pressing little kisses as he moved. Adam’s fingers gripped tighter on Nigel’s scalp. Nigel looked up. “You OK, Feathers?”

          Adam’s mouth hung open, his blue eyes dazed as he panted. “You look like you’re praying.”

          Nigel smiled, carefully maintaining eye contact as he licked a slow stripe up Adam’s cock. “I fucking am, gorgeous.”

          Adam made a choking sound, his wings stretching as Nigel repeated the motion. Nigel sucked lightly at the tip of Adam’s cock before swallowing him down. Adam started keening, head thrown back and wings twitching as Nigel worked him. Adam’s nails bit into Nigel’s scalp, his fingers trembling as Nigel rolled his tongue and hollowed his cheeks.

          Nigel let Adam fuck his mouth, closing his eyes when his angel started rolling his hips and sinking himself into Nigel’s throat. He could feel Adam’s wings curving around his back, cocooning him in blood red feathers. Words seemed lost to Adam, who gasped out half syllables as his knees buckled. When he swayed, Nigel caught Adam’s hips and pulled back gently. Adam moaned, hands scrabbling across Nigel’s head, trying to pull him back.

          “Shhhh, easy Feathers,” Nigel kissed Adam’s belly, nuzzling into the soft flesh he found there. “Let’s get you on the bed, yeah?”

          Nigel stood, his knees creaking as he rose, and gathered Adam into his arms. He eased them both down onto the bed, laying nose-to-nose. They traded smiles and small kisses while their hands roamed. Adam paused as his fingers traversed Nigel's chest, lifting up the gold locket and smiling softly at it. He kissed the locket, then returned his lips to Nigel's neck and jaw. 

          “I liked your mouth on my penis very much,” Adam said, wings ruffling as he leaned in for another kiss.

          “Me fucking too,” Nigel let his fingers trail over Adam’s groin, a feather light touch on his spit-slick cock. “You want to try fucking? Or you want more of my mouth?”

          Adam frowned, sucking his lips into his mouth as he wrestled with indecision. “I think I would like to feel your penis inside me, but would you consider putting your mouth back on me later?”

          Nigel surged forward, biting playfully at Adam’s shoulder. “I have a feeling you’ll have a hard time getting me off your cock, Feathers.”

          Adam laughed, pressing himself into Nigel’s teeth. “OK, then I’d like to try penetrative sex, please.”

          Nigel reached behind himself. Unwilling to stop nibbling Adam’s neck, he was forced to blindly slap at the nightstand until he found the lube. Holding the bottle up between them, he kissed Adam softly. “You fucking sure?”

          “I’m goddamn sure,” Adam assured. Nigel smiled softly, his chest feeling tight. Adam shifted closer, kissing the corner of Nigel’s mouth.

          “You know I love you, right?”

          “I do,” Adam nodded. “Giddy explained it to me when you sent me away. She told me that you didn’t want me to be in trouble because you loved me. And that you were a stubborn fool. So, we came up with a plan.”

          Adam frowned.

          “She also told me to put some clothes on.”

          Nigel laughed, grabbing Adam and pressing their foreheads together. “No more flashing old ladies, Feathers. I’m pretty sure that’s a fucking sin.”

          Adam bit Nigel’s chin softly. Nigel opened the lube and slicked a finger. Trailing his hand down Adam’s torso, Nigel paused to softly tug at Adam’s flagging erection.

          “Open up your legs for me, gorgeous.”

          Adam obeyed, settling on his side and raising his leg. Nigel slid down the bed, slipping his and between Adam’s ass cheeks to stroke at his opening. As he worked at relaxing Adam, Nigel took the tip of his angel’s cock between his lips, sucking lightly. Slipping a finger inside Adam, Nigel probed, hoping angels had the same little nub of nerves as humans.

          When Nigel glanced over Adam’s prostate, the angel keened. Shaking, Adam dug his hands back into Nigel’s hair begging him for more in a broken voice. Nigel slicked another finger, breaching Adam again and working on the stretch. He took Adam a little deeper in his mouth, moaning as he felt Adam rock himself back and forth between mouth and fingers.

          Working a third finger into his angel, Nigel pulled back, releasing Adam’s cock with an obscene pop. “You ready, Feathers?”

          His only response was a plaintive wail as Adam pushed himself deeper on Nigel’s fingers. Nigel pulled himself free, sliding back up the bed. Adam was on him immediately, straddling Nigel’s legs and pressing nipping kisses over Nigel’s neck and face.

          Slicking his cock, Nigel guided himself to Adam’s entrance, moaning as Adam sank down on his length. For a moment, both men just panted frantically into each other’s mouths. Nigel kissed Adam’s lower lip, gently gripping the angel’s hips and moving them up and back. Adam gasped, blinking as he repeated the movement.

          “O-oh,” the angel said quietly. He sat up, rolling his hips and letting his head fall back. Nigel left his hands on Adam’s hips, watching in awe as his angel rode him.

          Finding his rhythm, Adam’s wings unfurled. Nigel looked up at his gorgeous angel, bathed in the dim light of the room, blood red wings extended. He smiled, this was better than the religious visions his grandmother used to describe.

          Running his hand over Adam’s hips, Nigel took the angel’s cock in his fist, pumping firmly. Adam’s wings flapped at the new sensation and he began to moan as he fucked himself harder.

          “My beautiful fucking Adam. Come for me, Feathers,” Nigel whispered, feeling white hot pleasure coiling at the base of his spine. He thumbed the head of Adam’s cock, tipping the angel over the edge. Adam’s wings extended back as his back arched, ropes of come streaking Nigel’s stomach and chest.

          The sight was too much for Nigel, who followed quickly after, Adam’s shuddering body working the orgasm from him.

          Adam fell forward, showering Nigel with sloppy kisses as his body trembled. “I-Is sex always like that?”

          Nigel stretched, catching Adam’s jaw with his teeth. “I don’t know, guess we’ll have to try again and see.”

          Adam smiled. “I would like that very much.”

          Eventually, Nigel rolled Adam onto his side, sliding out from beneath the angel to retrieve a damp wash cloth. He cleaned them both quickly, before throwing the cloth onto the floor and settling back into the bed. Adam latched to his side immediately, his wing coiling protectively over both of them.

          Nigel curled a sweaty arm around Adam, pressing a kiss to his angel’s hair and then to the tip of the wing that was curved around them. Adam murmured something into Nigel’s chest, rubbing his nose against the thicket of hair there before settling on his pec. Nigel let the wing fall over him, a feather blanket that made him feel safe. He smiled down at Adam, quietly reaching for a cigarette from the nightstand.

          It fell to ash on his lips before he could even touch the lighter. A red wing adjusted to brush the ashes off of Nigel’s chest before resettling around them.

          “For fuck’s sake, Adam, people fucking smoke after sex.”

          Adam cracked an eye, glaring up at Nigel. “We’re going to have too much sex for me to allow that, you need to pick a new activity.”

          “Like what?”

          “How about silent reflection?”

          Nigel growled, but couldn’t stop the smirk when Adam giggled.

          “You’re not fucking funny, Feathers.” Nigel ran a hand down Adam’s back, stroking softly between the join of his wings. “Adam? What happens now?”

          “I stay with you and work in Purgatory,” Adam shifted, his chin propped on Nigel’s chest. “If you want.”

          “I fucking want.” Nigel brushed his fingers into Adam’s hair, smiling when the angel closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. “What happens when I die?”

          “You go to hell,” Adam said matter-of-factly. “You were going to go anyway, but now you’ll live with me there. Dr. Lecter showed me the employee complex, it’s much nicer than this apartment. There’s a hot tub.”

          Nigel thrilled at all the slippery things he could do to his angel in a hot tub. “Sure you can wait ‘til I kick?”

          Adam nodded. “Dr. Lecter said he’d be happy to let me take you early, but that seemed unnecessary. I can wait a few years.”

          Nigel lurched up, ignoring Adam’s frown at being dislodged. “A FEW FUCKING YEARS?”

          “The last time I checked.” Adam said with a yawn. He whistled, and Buster came barreling into the room, hopping on the bed to curl up at their feet. “But that was weeks ago and you weren’t living with me, then.”

          “What the fuck does that mean?”

          Adam raised an eyebrow and glanced at the cigarettes. Nigel sighed and pushed them off the nightstand. Adam smiled.

          “Gonna fucking save me yet, aren’t you, Feathers?”

          Adam yawned again, pushing at Nigel and settling back atop him. “I already did.”


End file.
